What I Wish I Knew Before Buying an M4 Mac Mini

[@ItsCaputo]

So what spec Mac mini did you get?

[@PeterEmery]

I went from an M1 Mac mini with 512GB storage/16GB memory to an M4 mini with 1TB storage/24GB memory. I found I was already using over half of the M1's storage, hence the upgrade to 1TB. As for choosing 24GB memory over 16GB, because the deletion of the 8GB option by Apple was done at the same time that Apple Intelligence became available I felt that while 16GB was likely OK now, increased AI capability in the future may need more memory. I also opted for 10 Gigabit Ethernet. I don't need it yet but I can envisage a future modem/router upgrade to 2.5 Gigabit.

[@mwwhatever]

@@PeterEmery I just upgraded to the base model from a Dell Precision T1700. I probably won't notice much though since I don't do anything high-powered with a computer. Just sick of Windows

[@matt112fly]

i'm getting my base model on friday :) paid by my company - i guess u can call it a xmas gift

[@redpill7993]

Moved from M1 Mini 8gb RAM 250 NAND to M4 24 gb 512 NAND. For the M1 8gb RAM was never enough and so swap was probably hitting the 250 NAND hard, so I had "failure soon" warnings this year. So far, 24 gb is just fine, never stressed, but 18 gb would clearly not have been enough for me.

[@markslima1557]

As much as I would love the Mac MIni Pro, I think I can get by with the base Mac Mini and utilize an external hard drive. It seems that the stock M4 is a solid CPU. Currently have a MacBook Air M2 with 16GB, but the port selection is maxed out for me, too limited.

[@briancollier5145]

replacing my intel macbook with the m4 Pro Mac Mini, 24 GB RAM, with 1TB storage. Thanks for this!

[@jimtipton8888]

I have a 16" M4 Pro MBP in that configuration. I 100% promise you're going to love it!

[@kericwilson4228]

Picked up standard M4 and upgraded ram and storage a bit!

[@smgumbycat]

The additional Unified Memory (24GB on M4 Pro Mac mini vs 16GB on M2 Pro Mac mini) was worth it for me to upgrade to the M4 Pro Mac mini. But in reality, I gave my wife the M2 Pro Mac mini to replace her 2020 Intel i5 Mac mini.

[@pantelistsiolas580]

I got the base M4 with 16GB/ 2TB but thinking of returning it for probably 24 or 32 GB Ram (no video work but run VMs i.e windows 11 as my company does not support Mac OS ) and 1TB with 2TB external (Samsung T7)

[@ItsCaputo]

I think 24 GB of RAM is a good option given likely it is that apps will likely get larger in the next 2-3 years.

[@wealleuropean]

use your usb also is an great $ option

[@Gcnm05]

how much ram would I need to run smoothly for programming? Gaming specifically (unreal engine 5)?

[@ItsCaputo]

RAM is more efficiently assigned to processes on the M3 and M4 chips and older recommendations for programming using the unreal engine were either 32 or 64. That said, I'd say 24 at the minimum, 32 is probably a safe bet, and 48 is likely overkill. It also depends on how long you'll keep the computer and if you foresee taking on programming in other languages in the near future. Does this help?

[@Gcnm05]

@ thanks for the reply! i appreciate it

[@dekar5]

Thinking about "upgrading" from a mbpro from 2018.. even if its no pro and just base.. it still would be an upgrade right? Mbpro was also base.. thanks

[@markslima1557]

The upgrade will blow you away, the M4 is much, much faster and zippier than the 2018 MacBook

[@jimtipton8888]

You will be 🤯!

[@generic_official]

Have you tried this with Topaz Labs Video AI or Photo AI?

[@JVDuranPhotography]

Hi Michael thanks for the videos! I just bought the Mac Mini M4 Pro base. I’m a wedding photographer and I’m coming from an M1 MacBook Air. I do batch edit thousands of photos and use Lightroom, Photoshop and Aftershoot a lot. I also use Chrome a lot for my website, calendars and other daily stuff. Wondering if I should stick with the Pro version or just go with the Mac Mini. I don’t really do video work but I’m planning to do more hybrid in 2025. Thanks!

[@thebusinessfirm9862]

Grazie per il video, amico. Molto bravo. 👌🏽

[@axoplanet6081]

I ordered today the Mac Mini M4 Pro / 1 tb / 64gb ram with the 14 core cpu. First I wanted the 48gb but it was just 200€ more to upgrade to 64gb so I did it. Came from the M1 / 16gb / 512 ram. I make music and I think this is a killer upgrade for music production.

[@ItsCaputo]

Making music is one of the things I want to get into in 2024. What apps/tools are you using?

[@axoplanet6081]

@ I use an Universal Audio Apollo x6 audio interface and Steinberg Cubase Pro, a Novation SL3 keyboard, Neumann KH310 speakers with a Neumann KH710 dsp subwoofer and a lot of software synthesizers and effects.

[@rogerhuston8287]

Dell makes a 5k 40" monitor that is like the Asus and supports native resolution.

[@itsgmani]

@@rogerhuston8287 I really want that monitor but I hear it doesn’t scale correctly and the “may affect performance” would appear?

[@ItsCaputo]

Do you know which model? I see a 5k2k monitor but it's 21:9 and has a lower pixel count.

[@itsgmani]

@@ItsCaputoit’s the U4025QW

[@rogerhuston8287]

@@ItsCaputo Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Thunderbolt™ Hub Monitor - U4025QW

[@stuarthepburn6508]

I bout the base 16GB nd 256GB - I had a 2TB Gen 4 Nvme spare and a thunderbolt enclosure, boot from that, don't need Apple Intellegence, faster than the native 256GB SSD

[@ItsCaputo]

That's a good point!

[@DrEmmePhD]

I am looking to get a computer to work with local llms. I decided to go for the Mini, leaning on the M4 Pro base (for longevity mainly). Is this worth it or a Mini M4 with extra ram would do well too? I also have an extra question, which ssds and external enclosures would you suggest to host the home folder (not the OS) with the Mac Mini M4 family?

[@rogerhuston8287]

I'm not a Mac user, been Windows all my life, since version 1.0 when it was just a runtime. Im trying to decide between a Mac Mini, Macbook Pro or wait for M4 Studio. Lot's to learn. I have a mem intesive task converting audio to DSD where 64 is min with 256G preferred. That is a ton of money for Mac, so maybe I also build a mini PC as well. $1k for a PC is cheaper than upgrading a Mac to do it.

[@ItsCaputo]

Lots to process there. What app do you use to convert the audio on Windows and does it exist on Mac? I can try it on my m4 max

[@rogerhuston8287]

@ItsCaputo PGGB from remastero. It does work on Mac, but not natively. It uses Rosetta. When converting to DSD it asks for more RAM otherwise it swaps to disk. DSD128 CA. Be done on a Mac at 48G, but 1 channel at a time.

[@Gogo8mkd]

You spoke very little about things that you wish you knew, and why you wish you knew them before buying. I clicked on the video just for that, and it was just the same as all the other people speaking about this product. Please do better.